Oscar De La Hoya visited the camp of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico this week in San Diego. He saw something different.

“The fact this fight is personal, it is the first time that I have seen Canelo with that extra determination,” said De La Hoya, Alvarez’s promoter. “He has looked perfect in training camp. He wants to destroy (Erislandy) Lara. This is exactly where he needs to be. I can see it in his eyes.”

Things heated up this week in the respective training camps of Alvarez and Lara of Cuba in anticipation of their July 12 junior middleweight fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view).

Both fighters spoke like they were chomping at the bit to get at each other. One of Alvarez’s co-trainers came off as peeved at Lara for all the junk he has talked, such as telling Alvarez that because he (Lara) is from Cuba, he learned fighting the best, not on a Mexican street corner (like Alvarez must have).

Actually, Alvarez co-trainer Jose “Chepo” Reynoso was kind of funny.

“Canelo has such a different attitude going into this fight, his attitude is much better,” Reynoso said. “His pride was hurt because of all the smack Lara has been talking. He is totally focused on July 12 and wants to punish Lara thoroughly.

“Canelo looks at Lara as an obnoxious child that needs to be put into his place.”

This will not be an easy fight for either guy. Thus the high intrigue. Alvarez, as is well-known, is not a hot-head. But it seems the more he thinks about Lara, the more ticked off he gets.

“Every camp is different because we’re always training for a different opponent,” he said from his House of Boxing headquarters in San Diego. “And, as always, I’ve worked very hard in this one. But Lara has said so many things behind my back and on social media for such a long time now that, yes, this fight is and has become personal.

“He’s a good fighter, but he talks a lot. He’s offended me. I’m going to have an answer for everything he has said. I’m going to shut him up once and for all.”

One has to wonder if, because of Lara’s insults, Alvarez might be carrying a heavier burden than usual, if for no other reason than he feels he has to defend his beloved country from Lara.

Not the case, he said.

“There is no extra pressure for me on this fight,” Alvarez said. “I’m as confident and relaxed as I always am. I’m prepared for whatever Lara has to offer.”

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Lara has been involved in some boring fights. But the left-hander is — as are most Cuban fighters — technically sound and he figures to give Alvarez all he can handle. Do not discount this fighter.

The word from his camp in Las Vegas was that he is looking good in sparring.

“My sparring partners are pushing me with numerous styles and I’m adapting to all of them comfortably,” said Lara, who tried unsuccessfully defect from Cuba in 2007 before being successful in his second attempt in 2008. “I told them to come extra hard to prepare me for the pressure Canelo is going to bring. I feel great and my timing is right on.”

“I know Canelo is training hard for this fight, as am I,” Lara said. “But unfortunately for him, there is nothing he can to do surprise me. He’s going to find out July 12 that I’m the superior fighter.

“His insecurities as a fighter will surface on fight night — that I can guarantee.”

Alvarez, 23, is 43-1-1 with 31 knockouts. His only loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013. Lara, 31, is 19-1-2 with 12 knockouts. His only loss came in controversial fashion to Paul Williams (majority decision) in July 2011.

Garcia foe perplexing

If Danny Garcia of Philadelphia wanted to take a soft touch for his next fight coming off three rather tough fights, that’s not the end of the world. Many fighters do that. But for Garcia to be defending his two super lightweight titles against some cat named Rod Salka seems ridiculous.

Although I’m sure that by the time the fight rolls around Aug. 9 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on Showtime), the powers that be will have somehow gotten Salka ranked in the top 15, which is where one must be to challenge for a title.

Right now Salka is nowhere to be found in the top 15. Furthermore, though he has previously fought at this weight, he has fought more as a lightweight. His most recent fight — a victory over Alexei Collado — was at lightweight. Which means Garcia is defending his belts against a blown-up lightweight who is currently not ranked.

This is not to mention that with a meager three knockouts, Salka doesn’t exactly present Garcia with any danger. De La Hoya did his best to spin this positively during a news conference this week formally announcing the card.

“All we need to do is look at recent Golden Boy boxing history,” he said. “We know that some of the best fights of the past year starred underdogs in the fight of their lives. In boxing you are dealing with the theater of the unexpected. At Golden Boy, we are focused on giving the fans exciting matchups that won’t disappoint.”

Garcia, 26, is 28-0 with 16 knockouts. Salka, 31, is 19-3 with those three knockouts. He is from Bunola, Pa.

This should be a non-title fight. Period.

Etc.

That aforementioned Garcia-Salka card includes Lamont Peterson (32-2-1, 16 KOs) of Washington D.C. defending his super lightweight title against Edgar Santana (29-4, 20 KOs) of Puerto Rico. ... The Alvarez-Lara undercard will feature Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14 KOs) of Hawaiian Gardens taking on Jonathan Oquendo (24-3, 16 KOs) of Puerto Rico in a featherweight bout. Mares hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Jhonny Gonzalez in the first round and losing his featherweight title in August 2013 at StubHub Center. ... Zou Shiming (4-0, 1 KO) of China will square off with Luis De La Cruz of Mexico in the flyweight main event July 19 in Macau, China (on HBO). That event also includes Guillermo Rigondeuax (13-0, 8 KOs) of Cuba defending his two super bantamweight belts against Sod Kokietgym (63-2-1, 28 KOs) of Thailand.